Mississippi State 41, Tennessee 31
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 13, 2012
Where: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi
Temperature:
70°
Head Official:
Matt Loeffler
Attendance:
57831
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 18 Mississippi State 41, Tennessee 31: Tyler Russell passed for 291 yards and two touchdowns, and LaDarius Perkins rushed for 101 yards and another score as the Bulldogs ended a six-game losing streak against the visiting Volunteers.
Marcus Green added six receptions for 71 yards and two touchdowns and Chad Bumphis caught seven passes for 93 yards to help Mississippi State (6-0, 3-0 SEC) win its sixth consecutive game to start the season for the first time since 1999.
The Bulldogs dominated early on, holding Tennessee (3-3, 0-3) to 97 total yards and five first downs in the first half, but the Vols scored the first 10 points of the second half and held Mississippi State without a first down during the third quarter to cut its lead to 27-24.
Mississippi State, which entered the game with 15 forced turnovers, forced its second of the game when cornerback Johnthan Banks caused a fumble by Devrin Young and recovered the ball with 9:12 left in the game. Perkins scored three plays later on a 1-yard run to push the Bulldogs lead to 34-24.
Tyler Bray finished with 148 yards passing and two touchdowns for Tennessee, which lost leading rusher Rajion Neal in the third quarter to a leg injury.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cordarrelle Patterson became the first Tennessee player to score on a kickoff return and a reception in the same game since 1990. … Mississippi State scored 27 points in the first half, its most points in the first half of an SEC game since 1994. … Tennessee’s Derek Dooley coached the game from the press box after undergoing hip surgery Tuesday. Receivers coach Darin Hinshaw handled the offense from the sideline.
Top Game Performances
Receiving
| Tennessee |
|
Mississippi State |
|
Justin Hunter
| Player |
Chad Bumphis
|
|
2 |
Receptions |
7 |
|
41 |
Yards |
93 |
|
20.5 |
Avg Yards |
13.3 |
|
0 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
|
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
| |
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
| Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
| Tennessee
|
361 |
213 |
148 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2.0 |
0 |
| Mississippi State
|
451 |
143 |
308 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
0.0 |
1 |